The Madison Adventure

MONDAY:

We finally had some nice weather, so I decided it was time to make more chalk bubbles! The kids and I had a blast making bubbles on the pavement... But I think I need to start making something new!

TUESDAY:
Spent a lot of time outside with the kids! And had a very busy evening trying to get some work done. Created taco seasoning from scratch. It was tasty, but spicy.

WEDNESDAY:
Joanna was working in Wausau, WI this past week (approx. 2hrs from Madison) and we decided to meet up for dinner one night. We met in Westfield, WI at a place called the Haystack Supper Club, which happened to be an 1hr drive for both of us. It was difficult to find, but well worth the trip. They had very good food! And tons of it! It was GREAT getting a chance to see her, even if it was only for a couple hours!

Da sent Otto and I a package. He wouldn't tell us what it was, but it showed up on Wednesday afternoon. Turns out it was a couple of Twins hats!!!

So we put them on!

THURSDAY:
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... we spent most of our time afternoon going around and cleaning the apartment for our guests coming for the weekend. Even though the place wasn't a pigsty we still feel like we need to thoroughly clean everything!

FRIDAY:
Art & Rob show up to eat BBQ Ribs! It was very tasty and fun!!

SATURDAY:
We took them to the Farmer's Market. Of course we bought Spicy Cheese Bread, Squeaky Cheese Curds, and Beef Jerky!!!

We took them on a tour of the Capitol building, then headed down State Street to eat at Ian's pizza and check out some of the shops!

We took them to the Henry Villas Zoo! It was a ton of fun!Then we headed to Edo Garden for dinner!

Our Hibatchi chef was awesome! We'll definitely request Chef Andy again!!!

SUNDAY:
We started our morning off with a wonderful brunch made by Otto. Headed out to run some errands and stopped for some ice cream at the Chocolate Shoppe!!!

Then they left to head home. Art is like my unbiological father, and Rob's my unbiological brother!!! It was SUPER GREAT for them to come visit us!! And we hope they come again!


Otto and I have a new project! Another garden...

First one needs a plastic tote (ours is 27 quarts)

Then you need to drill holes in the bottom for drainage.Line the bottom with a thin layer of gravel.

Make sure the table is sturdy on the ground so it doesn't tip over.

Put a couple screws through a couple of the drilled holes.

This is to make sure the tote stays on the table and doesn't slide off.Top the gravel with soil. (We use Miracle Grow Moisture Control)Then plant everything. (we planted lettuce, green onion and tomato plants) We'll see how this turns out!


On a side note our indoor garden is doing well!Here's the Cilantro!The tiny Oregano!Of course the Sweet Basil!!

And our newest addition! Chocolate Mint! I'm gonna attempt tea!

We decided to plant an indoor garden! Otto wanted Strawberries, so he bought a kit which he put together in the green pot on the right. I wanted to work with some fresh herbs, so I plant Spearmint in the round container and Basil, Oregano, Cilantro in the square planter. So far the Basil is zipping right along... Oregano is slowly starting to sprout, and I found some Cilantro peaking through! Spearmint is no where to be seen and the Strawberries too... I will have to take pictures to chronicle their development!


Today Otto decided he'd finally put up the bracer for the shelf in the laundry room! Doesn't it look nice!! Glad to know I'm going to be marrying a "Fix-it Guy"!


Last night we got together with some of our friends for dinner. We decided to celebrate our engagements and a try a new place at the same time! We had dinner at Samba Brazilian Grill!

Otto & I were engaged on 09/28/2007, James & Heather were engaged on 11/02/2007, Nick & Elaine were engaged on 12/22/2007! This is the first time we've all been able to get together since it all happened!


At Samba they have long skewers of meat that they cook. Each night they have a variety of 8! The variety last night was: Flank Steak, Sirloin, Rack of Lamb, Leg of Lamb, Parmesan Crusted Pork, Polish Sausage, Steak rolled in Bacon, and Roasted Duck. You're given this pillar, red on one side and green on the other. It starts with the Red side up, when you're ready for the gouches to come to your table you turn the Green side up. Shortly after the gouches just start showing up with huge skewers of meat to carve at your table! And they were amazing!!! So tasty!

But, before you start with the meat they have a an area dedicated to salads, cheese, vegetables, olives, and more. One of the salads was a Wasabi Octopus Salad...

Otto bravely tried it and declared it quite tasty, but HOT!


I asked the waitress for a suggestion for something to drink. This is a Batida! It has passion fruit puree, Cacacha and cane sugar. They even placed a cherry at the bottom! It was GREAT!!!

But not as great at their desserts!

Elaine and I shared their Samba "S'mores"! It was AWESOME! So sweet and yummy, yet spicy! We'd definitely go back to have it again!


James and Heather shared Cinnamon-Chocolate Mousse! Also, very yummy!!!

Otto and Nick shared two scoops of Mango gelato! They were really enjoying it!

Friday night we got together with some of our friends to have dinner at the Essen Haus! It's a German Pub/Bier Garden. Their food was awesome! And the service was even better! We had the best waiter ever!!! When we couldn't decide on a beer choice he brought us out some samples, answered any questions we had, and even went up to the band to request a couple songs for us! It was alot of fun and I hope we do it again!!!


Here's Dan and Ashley, our 2nd Neighbors!


Here's Anne and Ryan, our 1st Neighbors!


And of course here's Otto and I!!!